The Los Angeles Dodgers finally signed free agent slugger Manny Ramirez, agreeing to a two-year, $45 million deal. Manny will earn $25 million in the first year, and will have the opportunity to opt out of his contract in the 2009-10 offseason.

Manny and agent Scott Boras had sought a four-year, $100 million deal all along, but found no suitors. It isn’t known if Manny had any other offers on the table, but most teams denied interest in the slugger. The San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees reportedly expressed interest initially, but those scenarios never panned out.

Reaction: The Dodgers did the right thing in waiting it out with Ramirez. They knew they’d be bidding against themselves if they went ahead and offered a four-year deal to a 36-year-old defensive liability in the outfield. Manny was signed for his bat, and with the Dodgers last season, he was Ruthian. Manny hit .396 with 17 HRs and 53 RBI in 53 games with L.A. in 2008.

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[…] the market, Boras said. Problem was, there was no market. When Ramirez finally did sign it was for just what the Dodgers offered, and some of the money was deferred. That’s the situation McNealy and Sun find themselves in this […]